In the world of telecommunications, there are many paths to route data and/or voice from point A to point B. For customers who require dedicated bandwidth, the paths from point A to point B are more certain. Such a customer may pay for dedicated channels and/or systems within a telecommunications network in order to ensure reliable access to communications. Alternatively, a customer may pay for communications usage “on demand,” paying for what is actually used. As an example, a large customer having multiple locations may require dedicated data and/or voice conduits between and among various customer facilities. These facilities may be located within the same metropolitan area, or across multiple states or provinces.
FIG. 1 depicts one possible network use configuration for a customer utilizing data and voice communications. Other network use configurations for other customers may be much more complex. Here, customer facilities 202, 203, 204, and 205 are interconnected via nodes 201a, 201b, 201c, and 201d (e.g., central offices, switches, etc.). Communications between the facilities may be routed along pre-defined circuits, moving from point-to-point via electrical, optical, wireless, or other transmission mediums. For example, communications between facility 203 and one of retail locations 204 may be routed from the facility to node 201b, and then directly from 201b to 201c via link ‘bc,’ and then to the retail location 204. As communications data traverses the path, the customer may incur charges in accordance with tariffs and/or contracts.
The network use configuration of FIG. 1 enables data and voice communications to travel directly from point-to-point, routed based on the initiating and terminating points. This may not, however, be the most cost-effective route for communications to take. An alternative network use configuration for the same customer is depicted in FIG. 2. Here, rather than route communications along myriad point-to-point paths, customer data and voice are routed in a systematized ring formation. For example, communications traveling from facility 202 to one of retail locations 204 may be routed through all four nodes shown, 201a, 201b, 201d, and 201c. Although data traveling around the ring may be routed through more switches or central offices along the way, the end result may be more cost effective and/or reliable for either the customer and/or the provider of communications services. Such a routing formation may be a self-healing multi-nodal alternate route topology ring, or simply be called a ring. Such a topology ring may also be described as a SMARTRingSM, or WaveLengthRingsSM, both services provided at least by BellSouth Corporation.
Although two network use configurations are shown here, the number of possible configurations and routing formations may be limitless, especially as the size and complexity of a customer's network grows. Therefore, selecting a preferred use configuration (e.g., cheapest, most reliable, etc.) may be a taxing and/or confusing exercise. Taking multiple factors into consideration further complicates the task—factors which may include existing network layout, customer usage, fixed and incremental costs, tariffs, and so forth.
There is a need in the art for automated methods for determining a preferred use configuration for routing communications data within a telecommunications network.